Ted Turner Starts Production Company

Published: June 16, 2001

ATLANTA, June 15—
Ted Turner, frustrated by his gradual loss of control over the media empire that he sold to Time Warner in 1996, has set up his own production company here, a spokeswoman said today.

The venture, Ted Turner Productions, situated near the CNN headquarters that were once the center of the Turner media empire, will produce feature-length films and documentaries, the spokeswoman for Mr. Turner, Maura Donlan, said.

The studio will work closely with AOL Time Warner Inc., which is now home to the various properties that once made up Turner Broadcasting System, she said. However, the new studio would also develop projects on its own or possibly with other studios if AOL Time Warner is not interested, she said.

In particular, the new venture will focus on productions related to Mr. Turner's longstanding interest in the United Nations, the threat of nuclear war and the Civil War.

The new company will be led by Robert Wussler, co-founder of CNN and former president of CBS Television, who confirmed that Mr. Turner had several projects in mind and that one feature-length film was now in the preproduction stage.

Mr. Turner, 62, sold his media empire to Time Warner in 1996. Time Warner was then acquired by America Online earlier this year to form AOL Time Warner.